Welcome to part two of our blog series about different exam types! While people often think that OMR testing forms are only good for the tried-and-true multiple-choice test, the reality is that you have a lot of different options for your exams — and you can bet we have a form for everything. Here are some forms that allow for a unique testing experience, which are completely compatible with the Scantron® grading machines that you’re used to.

The PDP 50 M

For Hybrid Tests

While we’ve talked a lot about multiple-choice testing, there’s really only so far you can go with that approach. At a certain point, it can become beneficial to test the critical thinking of your students by giving them some short-answer questions. These types of questions are beneficial because they require more out of the students than rote memorization, and they give you an opportunity to see if they really know the material or if they’re just guessing. Short answers also force students to recall the answer without any kind of clues.

Of course, short-answer responses can be brutal if the entire test is made up of them, and they’re also much more time-consuming to grade. Why not save yourself some time and employ a hybrid test? We’re talking about an exam that combines multiple-choice and short response, which is a great way to have a varied test, but one that’s not oppressive for students or teachers.

In the academic world, the Scantron® 883 has always been the go-to OMR testing form for this purpose. But why deplete your precious school budget on those expensive forms when you can have a much more affordable and functionally identical counterpart in the PDP 50 M? Our testing form does everything that the Scantron® form does, and it even works in the same grading machines. At a fraction of the cost, it’s a no-brainer to stock up on these for your school or classroom.

The PDP 886

For Those Sweet, Sweet Essays

We’re about to talk about the spookiest thing possible for many a student: essays. Indeed, there is no easier way to strike fear into the hearts of your students than by giving them an essay test. Essays are tough because they require students to convey a sizeable amount of information, and unless they’re silver-tongued devils, there’s really no way to fake their knowledge.

Of course, we’re not advocating that you use this type of test for the purpose of tormenting your students. The bottom line is that essay tests are valuable for a variety of reasons, and they allow you to gauge your students’ competency in ways that multiple-choice tests simply can’t. Your students may dread it, and you may dread it as a teacher (essay questions are one thing that machines can’t grade for you), but the benefits are undeniable.

With that in mind, one of the best ways to provide an essay test is to use the PDP 886, which is functionally identical to the Scantron® 886 Lovas. Keep in mind this test isn’t solely for essays — if that was your only vehicle for testing, you might as well just use sheets of paper. This testing form is unique because it provides answer slots for up to 100 multiple-choice questions, but it also has clean lines that give your students space to write a short essay.

This is a great testing method. It affords you the advantages of multiple-choice testings, and because the essay form isn’t excessively long, it won’t feel oppressive to students. It’s a nice middle ground and it provides a lot of flexibility. Order yours today!

The PDP 100-E

For Work-Intensive Tests

We stated in the intro that this blog post would focus on tests that offer different testing types. We’re going to go back on our word a little bit here, as the PDP 100-E is a multiple-choice only test. However, this testing form has its own unique advantage: a glorious canvas of blank, white space.

At first glance, this seems like a waste of space. With no lines, it’s not very effective for essay questions, and why waste all that paper when you could be going with the slimmer PDP 100 instead? The answer is simple — some tests require a whole lot of work! If we’re talking about wasting paper, why have students dig up scrap paper to solve their math problems when they could just use space on their testing sheet?

By providing a testing form with blank space, students can work out the solutions to the problems. This is primarily intended for math exams, though it can be useful in other contexts as well. Not only is this easy and convenient for students, but it’s also a good anti-cheating measure. By allowing them to use their own papers, they could potentially smuggle in sheets that are already riddled with notes disguised as math problems. It’s also great for grading — by being able to see the work of your students, you can gauge their comprehension in a way that’s not apparent with multiple-choice bubbles.

The PDP 100-E is a more affordable version of the Scantron 888-E, and with the option to order in packs of 500, 100, or 50, you can order just the right amount for your school or classroom.

Scantron® Compatible OMR Testing Forms

And that wraps it up for this blog series. But make no mistake — even though we’ve covered many different types of testing forms in these two blog posts, it’s only a drop in the ocean when you look at our full selection of OMR forms that we offer at Precision Data Products. We have a sizeable collection of Scantron® compatible forms that aren’t listed in these two posts, and we also have forms that are compatible with other systems, such as Test Wizard and Advantage Learning System. We have ballots, item analysis forms, and much more. Are you interested in ordering some for your organization? Click here to browse our selection today.